Has anyone rented a car in Budapest, and found some interesting towns to visit ?
 

Hi,
Wrote before about renting a car in Budapest at the airport, for four days, and finding a place to stay each night in a different town. Is this reasonable, or should I just go to Budapest, and travel by train to a few towns. I speak only English, so this could be difficult outside of Budapest. Mainly, I wonder is there enough to see when we lesve Budapest, exloring the towns?
Also, we were thinking of cancelling our reservation at the Best Western, to stay at the Hotel Pest or Star Dream Apartments. Has anyone ever stayed at either place?
Are they in a good location? Thanks for any and all help!!

No experience about car rental, but I took public transport visiting Hungary without any difficulty two years ago, and I could only speak very limited local languages.

I spent one week in Budapest, took short trips around by train plus one day to Pecs; then 4 nights in Egar for northeast area, and 3 nights in Sopron for western area. Both bus and train networks are very convenient and cheap. The only regret is not enough time to see all the interesting sites.

Hi,
I would think twice about renting a car in Bpest, unless you are used to "heavy" city traffic. When we lived there, my joke would be to turn in left in Pest, you first would have to go to Buda.

The streets are over clogged with traffic, someplace double and triple parking. Causing roads to be blocked even more.

Your 4 days there can be easily spent in the city itself. There is much to see and do. If you become bored with the city, you can take the HEV to Szentendre. A quaint artsy town about 1.5 hours from BP. Or take a bus trip Esztergom. (near the Slovak border, take a stroll over to Slovakia for lunch) Take the HEV in the other direction to Godollo.(there is a beautiful Palace there) If time allows, which it does not seem like it really would, take the train to Eger. (leaves every 24 minutes past the hour from Keleti (Eastern) Train Station. Eger is in the wine region of HU and is a beautiful town.

After mentioning all these, I still feel that you can fill your 4 days just in Budapest. There is the Terror Museum, Statue Park, Baths, Opera, The Var (Castle district) Museums galore, Heroes Square.Lots of parks. Lots of sidewalk cafes to soak up local culture. All these are located on some sort of bus/tram/trolley route.

You mentioned about cxl. reservations at the Best Western. There are numerous BW in BP, so I am not sure which you are referring to. But I can say this, they are located within 3 km of the city center. Which means they are all on/or within walking distance to public transport.

If using public transport, make sure you purchase and VALIDATE tickets.
Have a great trip. Z

Thank you for all your help. What I failed to say is that I will be staying for eight days, five in Budapest and three perhaps traveling. Your idea of using trains was fabulous. I will stay in Budapest first, then take a train to a different city and find a hotel. Will I be able to find one easily in Szentendra? Could you reccommend one? Any other suggestions would be gratefully accepted!

no personal experience, but we are going to Budapest in August, and my Hungarian gardener has told me NOT to rent a car under any circumstances. Now, my husband grew up in Detroit, has driven in Italy and we now live in Israel, so for Yoram to warn us knowing all that, I'd imagine the driving has to be pretty scary!

I don't think I'd plan to stay in Szentendre - it's a very easy day trip from Budapest. Consider Eger or Sopron instead. Or, depending on when you're going, you could maybe stay somewhere on Lake Balaton.

A few comments on renting a car in Hungary.
To “cowprintrabbit”. Sorry for my sarcasm, but probably the above mentioned gardener came to Budapest from a tiniest remote village. If you husband has driven in Italy and now I presume he is driving in Israel, then driving in Budapest will be an absolute pleasure ride. The Hungarian drivers are zillion times more polite than the drivers in Italy or Israel. In Italy I have to act severely, sometimes almost have to hit the other cars because for instance in constant traffic NOT a single person lets you enter the main road from a secondary. It had happened to me hundreds of times, while in Hungary if not the first, then the second or the worth scenario, the third driver lets you in! The drivers in Israel are also not on the polite side, to say the least. Same thing if you want to park or do whatever unpredictable. Maybe one arrogant person here will blow his horn, but most of the drivers will simply let you finish your maneuver. The traffic jam can be bad, but mostly from 7-9:30 am and from 4:30-6”30pm otherwise it is OK. But even during rush hours, it has nothing to do with the madhouse situations in Rome or around Washington DC. This is also based on my own multiple experiences. So with little planning involved you are OK. I am telling you this a s a person who is doing personalized guiding and thus driving in the city quite a significant portion of my life. Every single side street has tons of parking spaces, just don’t forget to toss in enough coins in the parking machine and then put the ticket on the dash board.

Now to “clayplay15”: The renting of a car versus public transportation, I consider an ABSOLUTE go for the car. Unfortunately the so much praised (by visitors to our country) public transportation in Hungary is, how to say politely, is steadily loosing its quality while becoming more expensive almost every 6 monthes. The overwhelming number of mass transport means in Hungary has no air-conditioning. This one is the first and very important draw back for any overseas tourist. The other and most important factor is TIME. You will have enormous advantage over trains or buses (recently we had a few major railroad strikes, quite a few dramatic cut backs in train and bus line numbers, etc).

Just one example: Having a car for instance, You can leave Budapest at 9:00am, drive to the Godollo summer Palace, then watch the fantastic horse show at the Lazar brother’s Equestrian Park (www.lazarteam.hu) and after that it’s just an hour drive (the speed limit on Hungarian super highways is 130km or 81 miles/hour and 90km or 56 miles on regular roads) to the jewel town of the Hungarian baroque, Eger. See all this and be back to your Hotel at 9 or 10pm and still having enough time for a pleasant dinner in Budapest! Your advantages are countless, with good preplanning you can see the most beautiful places in the country (now I am not talking about the over hyped tourist traps of the Danube Bend) but instead of towns like Pecs, Szeged, Gyor, Veszprem, Szekesfehervar (where you can see the unique masterpiece of one man architect\builder’s creation the Bory Var fairy tale castle), Sarospatak, Szerencs etc.
You can drive on the other (mostly tourist free) bank of the Danube to Vac (the recently renovated main square is an absolute must see and the town itself is a little jewel, having the one and only Arch de triumph in Hungary), see the Visegrad castle in its most beautiful perspective, picturesque villages of Zebegeny and Szod, then drive further to a little village of Nagyborzsony with one of the oldest Rotunda’s in Hungary. From there follow on through Letkes to Slovakia. The drive through Ghost (former) border check-points is a unique experience as well. It’s a very pleasant drive through the Borzsony hills and little quaint villages in Slovakia. You arrive to Sturovo and see the Esztergom Basilica how it should be seen, from the Slovakian side of the Danube. This alternative Danube bend is an easy ride by car and solar miles apart by public transportation.
The roads in Hungary are perfectly and clearly marked and also in the cities most of the tourist attractions are well indicated on special signs and most of the rental agencies provide a GPS system as well.
All in all if you have driven in any big American or European city, you will be absolutely comfortable in Hungary. I am 100% positive.

We recently returned from a trip to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. From eastern Slovakia, we drove to Eger for two nights, then drove to the Danube bend towns of Ezstergom, Visegrad and Szentendre, spending the night in Szentendre. We then drove the rental car into Budapest and dropped it off at the Budget rental office.

We're experienced drivers all over the U.S., including big cities, and in European, primarily France and Italy (including small, rural location). While we did have navigation challenges in the Czech Republic (involving getting to castles located in the middle of nowhere and surprise detours for roadwork), we didn't have any problems in Hungary.

Eger was a delightful, gorgeous little town, and I'd highly advise that you visit, by car or public transportation. It took us a little longer than 1 hour from Eger to Budapest, but not much longer, and the highway quality was basically the same as in the U.S.

While we liked the Danube Bend area, and Szentendre was nice enough, I think if we had it to plan over again, we'd spend an extra day in Eger, and explore that area a little bit more.

In addition, when in Budapest, we stayed at the Hotel Pest. Wonderful hotel, VERY high quality. Our room (a triple, as we were traveling with our teen-aged son) was huge - we could have had 10 people sleep in it. The breakfast and breakfast area was pleasant. The location was very good, and an easy walk to many other locations.

We basically speak only English - we learned a few phrases in Hungarian (a very difficult language indeed), and while once in a while there was a person who didn't speak much English, we managed perfectly fine.

thank you okzi, we might consider getting a car one dar after all if we run out of things to do.

I would take the train east through eger to tokai. Most of the towns along the way have something interesting to do

Another vote for Eger. It's a lovely town, and in the hotels they speak English (my experience, at least). Even if you only learn a couple phrases in Hungarian, use them. The Hungarians really seemed to appreciate it.

I have rented a car many times in Budapest and driven with no problems whatsoever.

I like the lake Balaton and have stayed around Tihany several times.
http://www.tihany.hu/en_Nyito.htm

I'm in Budapest now.. half way thru a 5 week trip. I did not rent a car - but certainly would do so without hesitation. It is no worse - in my view - than most major world cities ....and a good bit better than many.

We bought a one month transportation pass which covers all modes in the city limits. I love the freedom of jumping on trams, metro, etc. and it is very easy to get around. They also sell a one week version. Transportation centers (trains, metro, etc) is a place where I find very few English speakers. But everyone is friendly, and it is no problem.

I've found no issue as a non-Hungarian speaker in Budapest restaurants. However, I did wander Vac for about an hour lost before I could find anyone that spoke English and could help me (tho everyone really tried). Also, in places like the food markets I found very little English spoken(my daughter still isn't thrilled with my chicken immitation).

I have not made it to Eiger yet, but it is on our list. We are going to Vienna for the weekend - a 3 hour train ride. We did enjoy Szentendre. It is an easy 40 minute ride by HEV train.

Enjoy your stay - it is a lovely town with lovely people.

Few more thoughts on car travel in Hungary.

Another interesting option is to drive along the lake Balaton with stops in the most beautiful places, Tihany, the basalt rocks of Badacsony etc. Then on to Heviz (the largest Thermal lake in the world), from there to Keszthely, visit the Festetics Palace. Spend the night there and in the morning follow on to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia (about 4 hours drive), which is called by many as Prague before the tourist hordes. In the evening drive back to Budapest. Absolutely doable by car but probably closer to a Columbus’s discovery of America if done by public transportation. When you are limited in time or you are not planning a special trip to this area anymore, so this is a most perfect option.

Another fine example of car versus trains\buses is this:
Quite a few times I did transfers from Budapest to Vienna via Prague. Yes, yes, Prague.
Lots of my former clients booked everything only for Hungary and Austria. When being here and realizing that it’s just a five hours trip to Prague, they went for this option.
It’s very simple. You rent a car, leave from Budapest at 8am and at noon you are in Prague. You have about 6 hours over there, which is more than enough for a general overview tour, then after a dinner you leave at let’s say 7:30pm and by 11-11:30pm you are in Vienna. This option is very popular with my clients from Israel and also quite a few over seas travelers as well.
I know for some it will sound ridiculous, but Please! Remember that we are all different! For many people a stroll over downtown Prague is more than enough or maybe it will inspire them to come to see it again in the future.
Also you can do Vienna for a day trip, just 2,5 hours by car, downtown to downtown, and having a car in Vienna you can see the Schonbrunn palace as well. All this in a day.

Since the question was about renting a car and founding some interesting towns to visit, so my answer is a definite car versus train or bus. When one day our trains will be at least 70% close to the German EC trains in terms of speed and service, then I will reconsider my opinion. But for the time being……

Okszi.. I like the Lake Balaton idea as it is harder to access via train. Do you recommend a particular car company in Budapest?

Julie Colorado
Cause I am a private guide so naturally I would recommend myself:)

Now seriously, from my former experiences the Fox Autorent is not bad. http://www.fox-autorent.com However thoroughly check their unlimited mileage package. Some of my former clients told me of their paying extra for some hidden charges and it was something with the unlimited mileage. But I think it was a problem only with unlimited mileage when using the car abroad. So you better double check.
Another company providing very good rates http://www.autoglobalrent.hu but I haven’t had any contacts or personal experience with them.
Also I heard on this forum about a Father and Son providing cheap and reliable rent a car, http://www.steverent.com/ . They had good reviews on this forum before, but again no personal experience.

Hi,






















Thanks for all the great info on traveling by car in Budapest. Osci, you are a private guide, can you contact me at [email protected] and tell me a little about your services.

Three of us will be in Budapest first few days of October. We selected the Hotel Pest for our stay. It is off of Andrassy Ave.

http://hungaryinenglish.blogspot.com...om-heroes.html

I recommend you go to Tihany on Lake Balaton! It's a little town with thatched roof cottages and a beautiful abby.

Also, while driving in Budapest is not the easiest thing in the world, and parking surely is bad, it is NOT very different from driving in any European city.

I would highly recommend:

http://www.steverent.com/

His name is Istvan. Nice car. Nice people. They dropped & picked the car up from our hotel on Buda hill. My sister-in-law used them too last May. No issues, no surprises & all automatic cars.

I know I am late to the thread but that's my 2 cents worth.

Ian

Okszi, I don't what part of Budapest you are in, but your part of the city does not sound like any parts of the city I have lived in or visited.

First off there are NO parking places to be had unless you are very lucky.

Second.. cars will not let you in while driving.

Third, they will honk you off the road in a heart beat.

Fourth, they will run you over if you step off the curb. Sometimes you have to watch out for the cars that are driving on the sidewalk.
Oh yes, that is also where they park since parkking is very expensive and there are no places on the street, only large lots whicha again are expensive.

For place to see, Szent Endre is nice a nice short side trip from BUD, take the local green metro "Hev" about 1 hour or so. Not much to do, but nice scenes. Take the boat back if it fits your schedule or vice-versa.

Eger is easily do-able as a day trip from BUD trains leave almost hourly to there and also back. If you go, make sure to go the Szep Aszonyok Volgy. Valley of the Beautiful Women and see the wine cellars after a nice lunch.

I know this info is correct, I just returned there in July after spending a month in BUD.

We have driven in Rome, people there are polite and angels compared to the drivers in BUD.

Also some of the trams and buses are air conditioned, it was hot, but not unbearable. The train we took to Eger and to Vienna where both airconditioned.
Zsu

Dear Shangrila!

First of all thank you for the funniest comment I have ever heard in my life. “We have driven in Rome, people there are polite and angels compared to the drivers in BUD “
When I told this to a few friends (who are frequent business drivers to Italy), they were rolling on the floor, after hearing this. I think it’s ONLY and I have to stress ONLY your unbelievable, miraculous luck in Italy and probably a very, very bad luck in Hungary, what made you making these comments.
Than I have to add one VERY, VERY, VERY important thing. I have been in the USA 6 (six times). But I would NEVER EVER comment on Americans driving habits and manners based on these few(sometimes more than a month-long) visits!!! NEVER. Why? Because you are just a stranger who will come and go, while I am a Hungarian living in Budapest, where I am an old time resident and a private guide as well. Thus I have to drive in the city all the time.

No parking? Ha-ha-ha. Excuse me please! But it’s an absolute misleading comment. I leave in the suburbs and yes, due to major renovations and bridge closures and a massive cleaning after yesterday’s August 20th celebrations (the biggest national Holiday in Hungary with dozens of events, involving 1.5 million spectators, like the Red Bull Air race over the Danube, fantastic fireworks, the Holy Right procession etc, etc) I had to struggle through traffic to Hero’s Square for 55 minutes. There were zillions of cars everywhere. It’s an absolute peak of the tourist season here. It took me 15 minutes to find a parking space in front of the Szechenyi Spa. It’s an absolute negative record. Normally it is only 2-7 minutes. Why was it SOOOOOOO long this time? Because there were dozens of tour buses blocking all the space around the square and hundreds of tourist’s cars. Also the Felvonulas square, where we have major parking for the Hero square visitors was closed to private cars. Otherwise it’s just a few minutes to park there. Downtown? There is ALWAYS free parking under the Elizabeth bridge. Nowadays downtown the parking fee is 300 (2 USD quit) Forint an hour which is 30 percent more than downtown Vienna! For Hungarian average wages it is a lot of money! Yesterday, 20 minutes before the race with ONE MILLION spectators (the race happens in between the Chain and Margaret Bridges) it took me FIVE minutes to find a very nice spot 2 minutes from the Elizabeth Bridge in a side street to Kossuth Lajos utca. If you have been here for a month, then you got to know all above mentioned places. When I take clients to the Synagogue, it’s only a matter of minutes to find a place in the Dohany street or one of the side streets. Same applies to hotel New York, where we go for a coffee break quite frequently. Tons of parking around. I could continue this with more examples. The ONE and ONLY critical space is next to St. Steven's Basilica.

Now about driving manners.
Because of the morning and even worth afternoon traffic I was late and had to drive a bit faster:)) I had to use the bus lane twice, make little tricks (sorry but it was an extreme situation, that can happen to anyone) etc. ALL the time they let me in at the VERY FIRST TRY. I am using capital letters not in a manner of raised voice, but as a mean of an extra stress and trying to show you the REAL situation in Budapest parking and driving. Honking is almost very rare. THIS is not Egypt or Turkey. Please! You can ask dozens of my former clients from this forum and they will say the same!

AC, well it’s a personal matter, but my yesterday’s clients were trapped in a bus, due to an event around Hero’s Square, and in 92F(33C) they have regretted it deeply. As for trains\buses versa rent a car, I have explained everything before.
Thank you for your time and happy travels.

I have to agree with oskzi. We drove in Budapest, to Eger, back thru to Gyor, on to Sopron, to Vienna & back to Budapest. Not any worse than Orlando. Street signs can be fun finding on the buildings but no big deal.

I have driven in Napoli, Italy & it was hell.

Ian